The present invention relates to a sustainable wastewater treatment system that utilizes a bast medium as the attached growth medium. The wastewater treatment system of the present invention reduces odors and in-house ammonia levels and increases the overall water quality of organic waste streams. The invention also relates to a method for treating wastewater using the wastewater treatment system according to the present invention.
Odor is an increasing concern in many agricultural locations across the United States. In particular, odor generated by waste and wastewater from confined animal housing operations has received national media attention. There is increasing public concern associated with nuisance odor and potential environmental problems associated with untreated or partially treated wastewater from confined animal feeding operations.
For example, odor associated with swine production facilities has been a limiting factor with regard to the expansion of the swine industry. These odors have been identified from three major sources: (1) building and facilities, (2) outside storage systems, and (3) land application of manure and wastewater. (Nicolai. R. E., Managing Odors from Swine Waste, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota, Publication AEU-8, 1998). In response to the public concern associated with nuisance odor and potential environmental problems, the legislatures of both North Carolina and Mississippi have placed moratoriums on the expansion of the swine industry in their respective states.
Perception of an odor is a psychological response to an odorant, the actual molecule or molecules that cause the neurological response. The olfactory receptors transmit sensations directly to the olfactory bulb of the cerebral cortex. This portion of the brain, formerly called the xe2x80x9csmell brainxe2x80x9d, is part of the limbic system which is now known to be the center for basic emotional drives and motivation. (Fox I. A., Human Physiology, Fourth Edition, Wm. C. Brown Publishers, 1993).
Anaerobic processes, common to virtually all swine production facilities, release ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile fatty acids such as organic acids, alcohols, aldehydes, fixed gases, carbonyls, esters, amines, sulfides, mercaptans, and nitrogen heterocycles. With such a wide array of odorants being released into the air, it is likely that one of these compounds will trigger an unfavorable emotional response in the limbic systems of humans and create a nuisance odor.
Today, modern swine production facilities use large quantities of flush-water to remove feces and urine from swine production buildings. This dominant practice has predicated the use of anaerobic lagoons for wastewater treatment. Unfortunately, anaerobic lagoons designated for these facilities cannot treat the waste stream to a level that can be legally discharged under DEQ/EPA requirements. Further, these anaerobic lagoons do not remove all of the odorants from the wastewater. Subsequent land application may release these odorants into the air, thereby exacerbating odor complaints.
Although there are known methods for odor reduction, no current technology has proven to be cost-effective on a commercial production scale. Accordingly, it remains a goal of those of skill in the art to obtain a wastewater treatment system that both reduces odor and biologically treats water from organic waste streams in a cost-effective manner.
In order to address these problems in the art, the present inventors have designed the Bast Medium Biological Reactor Treatment System (BMBRTS) which uses a natural bast medium in an attached-growth reactor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a holistic wastewater treatment system that can be implemented for the treatment of organic waste streams.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wastewater treatment system that reduces or eliminates odor.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wastewater treatment system that utilizes a bast medium and naturally occurring microorganisms to biologically treat wastewater and reduce odor.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wastewater treatment system that produces a stabilized end product suitable for cost-effective export.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wastewater treatment system that can be implemented in a cost effective manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wastewater treatment system that can be implemented as part of a sustainable waste management system.
With the foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the invention that will become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and to the appended claims.